you know you live in the PNW when:

[gardenmom5]

I received this list in a birthday card from one of our providers.  it made me smile and I thought I'd share.

 

1. you know the state flower (mildew)

2. you feel guilty throwing aluminum cans or paper in the trash

3. you stand on a deserted corner in the rain waiting for the "walk" light.

4. you can taste the difference between starbuck's, SBC, and Veneto's.  (I don't drink coffee, so I fail that one.)

5.you know how to pronounce sequim, Puyallup, Issaquah (btw: old indian word meaning speed-trap ;p. heard that from a friend who grew up there.), Oregon (I confess, too often hearing east coasters pronounce it makes me cringe), Yakima, and Willamette.  (dh's favorite pronunciation trick is geoduck. I can think of at least another half dozen off the top of my head.  Spokane, Stillaguamish, Nisqually, dosewallips, quilcene, Dungeness, sekiu )

6. in winter, you go to work in the dark and come home in the dark and only work eight hours.

7. you are not fazed by "today's forecast showers followed by rain" and tomorrow's forecast "rain followed by showers".

8. you notice, "the mountain is out" (and know what it means) when it is a pretty day and you can actually see it.  (and last week - it was a gorgeous day for a ferry ride, it was sunny and still - and there were so many low clouds you couldn't see a single mt.)

9. you put on your shorts when the temp is above 50 degrees, but still wear your hiking boots and parka.

10. you think people who use umbrellas are either wimps or tourists.

11. you buy new sunglasses every year, because you can't find the old ones after such a long time. 12. you design your kids Halloween costume to fit under a raincoat. (or over a warm coat).

 

I had a "Utah residencey test" years ago, and a few questions still stick out in my mind.

1. you have a trampoline

2. the mother of the bride/groom was pregnant at  your wedding

3. you use lime jello and carrots in a salad

4. parties have red punch and cookies for treats

5.  and my favorite that I remember - your mother has plastic grapes in her attic.  (dh was ecstatic to get not just his mother's, but his sisters.  he plans on displaying them as a joke "household atrocity" in his new office.)

[Jean in Newcastle]

I fail the coffee one too, Kristen.  But I ace all the rest!  

[milovany]

Wellllll, true on many of those, but several of them are west of the Cascades specific, yet we Easterners are still PNWers.  Don't worry, though, we're used to all y'all thinking you're the big it of the state.  ;)  

[gardenmom5]

so, what are some specific to eastern Washington?  (besides being able to prounce Spokane, Okanogan, Wenatchee, etc.?)

 

Wellllll, true on many of those, but several of them are west of the Cascades specific, yet we Easterners are still PNWers.  Don't worry, though, we're used to all y'all thinking you're the big it of the state.  ;)  

eta: I don't think sil's dh comment suggested bumper stick of "Happiness is Pullman in your rear-view mirror counts. perhaps their much lauded ice cream brand (which I can't recall off the top of my head)?

[Amira]

I may have grown up in Utah, but the Pacific NW list fits me better.  No wonder I was happier in Seattle than Utah Valley. :)

[Guest]

LOL.  Another one I love is "You can define the difference between "sun breaks" and "intermittent showers."  

And another one:  you sit outside Starbucks.  In the rain.  

 

:0)

 

The main difference I noticed when I moved from Denver was the driving--people in Seattle are SO POLITE.  It is annoying.  

 

Me from Denver:  "You want to merge, fine.  There's 6" either end, and we're going well under 70mph."

Me now:  "Oh please, let me offer you this engraved invitation to merge.  Let me slow down to 30mph on the freeway so you won't be nervous about changing lanes."

 

LOL

 

[Belacqua]

I'm reminded of a commercial for the Seattle Mariners baseball team from a few years ago. One of the players is teaching newcomers to say, "I took my geoduck to Puyallup."

 

I'd add to the list the ability to hear the word "sunbreak" without laughing.

 

ETA: Patty Joanna beat me to the sunbreaks :)

[ElizabethB]

When people say they can pronounce anything, or complain about spelling, I like to bring up Sequim. So far no one has ever pronounced it correctly, although I have had interesting guesses!!

 

When my mom visited a week or so ago, it was 100 the last few days she was here, we hung out inside with her ran the A/C. She just wanted to see the grandkids anyway.

[TrixieB]

Skagit, Okanogan, Wahkiakum, Chehalis, Des Moines, Hoquiam, Mukilteo, Palouse, Sedro-Woolley, Washougal... just to add a few more. :)

[Stacia]

So, for this east coaster, how do you pronounce all those names????

[shanvan]

So, for this east coaster, how do you pronounce all those names????

Oh, thank God !  Someone asked.  This thread might have kept me up all night wondering....

[Guest]

sequim, Puyallup, Issaquah

SKWIM.  pyooALup, ISuh-kwah.

 

geoduck  is gooeyduck.  

 

But please don't ask me to order at Starbucks.  25 years and I still can't do it.  I haven't had my freakin' coffee yet!!!

 

[Stacia]

sequim, Puyallup, Issaquah

SKWIM.  pyooALup, ISuh-kwah.

 

geoduck  is gooeyduck.  

 

But please don't ask me to order at Starbucks.  25 years and I still can't do it.  I haven't had my freakin' coffee yet!!!

 

Whoo-hoo, I knew how to pronounce Issaquah! :lol:

 

Ok, the others are harder (more like tongue twisters for me). Must practice as I'll be out in that area visiting before long....

 

I've got the Sbux ordering thing down pat, though! :thumbup1:

[Guest]

As for pronunciations, I have to say that the Native American names "buffalo" any newcomer.  When we lived in Colorado, my MIL came to visit.  She couldn't pronounce the name of a main street, because the Native American pronunciation pattern from the NE was different.  She kept saying air-uh-POE-ho for a-RA-puh-hoe.  It's regional.

 

[milovany]

so, what are some specific to eastern Washington?  (besides being able to prounce Spokane, Okanogan, Wenatchee, etc.?)

 

Oh, it's just all the rain/moisture/misty related ones.  We don't have that problem over here.  It rains sometimes, but it's not damp all the time (even when it's not raining, or showering, or whatever).  I grew up over there, so I get it -- I really do!  It makes me not mind it when it does rain here.  :)

 

[Starr]

I remember a library book in elementary school titled, 'Don't Call it Or ee gone' or something similar. haha I'm always telling people in the NE that it hasn't 'gone' anywhere. :D

 

[milovany]

So, for this east coaster, how do you pronounce all those names????

 

Skagit, Okanogan, Wahkiakum, Chehalis, Des Moines, Hoquiam, Mukilteo, Palouse, Sedro-Woolley, Washougal... just to add a few more. :)

 

SKA-jit (short a)

Oh-kuh-NAH-gun

Wuh-KI-uh-kum

Shuh-HAY-lis

Deh Moyne

HOE-kwee-um

Muh-kil-TEE-oh

Pah-LOOSE

SEE-droh WOOL-y

Wah-SHOE-gul

 

Someone can correct me if I did any wrong!  That's how I've pronounced them and heard them pronounced. 

 

I have to add Methow Valley!  MET-how (t and h are separate).  Oh, and near where I grew up:  Enumclaw (EE-num-claw).

[Jean in Newcastle]

I remember a library book in elementary school titled, 'Don't Call it Or ee gone' or something similar. haha I'm always telling people in the NE that it hasn't 'gone' anywhere. :D

I have this book  

"Omak me yours tonight, or, Ilwaco million miles for one of your smiles: A Ballard of Washington State"

 

http://www.amazon.com/yours-tonight-Ilwaco-million-smiles/dp/0963429418

 

[Guest]

What did Idaho?

She hoed a Maryland.

 

Where has Ore-gone?

She's taking Okla-home.

 

What did Delaware?

She wore her New Jersey.

 

What did Tennessee? 

She saw what Arkansas.

 

What did Io-way?

She weighed a Washington!

 

WHO SAYS MY SECOND GRADE EDUCATION WAS WORTHLESS????

 

[LucyStoner]

I know every 1-90 exit between I-5 and CDA. Not like know of or recall. I can list them, and their various amenities, off by heart. Tokio Weigh Station people!

 

Eastern Washington gets into "Inland Empire" or something. It's a subset of the PNW, of which a main feature is the Pacific coast.

[milovany]

You stop in my hometown, Katie!  Exits 106 and 109 (I live closer to 106). Which do you prefer?  One is busier (and has more food choices available) than the other. 

 

:D

[LucyStoner]

106 has the ice cream we get on the way out of town and 109 has the Taco Del Mar we like on the way back into town on the rare occasions we hit Ellensburg coming back during business hours.

 

Ellensburg has also been our "why the heck did we try to drive back this late" stop and sleep point a number of times. I have no desire to fall asleep at the wheel sometime before hitting North Bend.

 

I am a western WA gal married to an eastern WA fellow. So over the hills and through the woods to Grandmother's house we go. Also we spent a short part of our marriage with him in Seattle and me in Cheney, all reversed and stuff. There were some days he made a round trip in a single day just to see me and bring me Ethiopian food.

[Gil]

What is PNW?

[Jean in Newcastle]

What is PNW?

Pacific Northwest

[Alenee]

 

The main difference I noticed when I moved from Denver was the driving--people in Seattle are SO POLITE.  It is annoying.  

 

Me from Denver:  "You want to merge, fine.  There's 6" either end, and we're going well under 70mph."

Me now:  "Oh please, let me offer you this engraved invitation to merge.  Let me slow down to 30mph on the freeway so you won't be nervous about changing lanes."

 

LOL

 

OH.MY.GOODNESS! We're transplants (or refugees?) from CA...13 going on 14 years, and the one major issue we haven't been able to shake is the driving! Puuuuuuulllllllleeeeeeeeezzzzzzzzzzzz JUST MOVE! People are polite...once they look in their rearview mirror!  It's all like, 'I'm just going along and no one else exists,' while they sit next to all three lanes going the exact same speed...10 miles below the speed limit.  Maddening, I tell you!  Just maddening!  THAT is the PNW for you!  LOL!

[Azalea]

You know what the weatherman means when he says, "chances of brightening".

[Azalea]

I'm native. Drivers here are correct and appropriate. They could however drive just a little slower and be just a little nicer.  :laugh:

[Jean in Newcastle]

I'm native. Drivers here are correct and appropriate. They could however drive just a little slower and be just a little nicer.  :laugh:

Ha!  The niceness is a trick.  They will wave you to cross in front of them - into the way of an oncoming semi!  I always shake my head no when someone tries to do something nice but dangerous in traffic.  

[myfunnybunch]

 

9. you put on your shorts when the temp is above 50 degrees, but still wear your hiking boots and parka.

10. you think people who use umbrellas are either wimps or tourists.

 

 

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

We host exchange students, mostly from Asian countries, and they always tell us that they can tell the American students at our PNW university because they don't use umbrellas (and the Asian students break them out at the first sign of clouds), and they are surprised by people wearing shorts in what they consider to be cold weather.

 

Cat

[mellifera33]

At our church, wool socks with birks are appropriate footwear under liturgical vestments.

 

no idea where all this crap is coming from, it won't edit out. :(

 

[Cascadia]

My born-and-raised-in-Miami DH wanted to know what the difference was between "partly cloudy" and "partly sunny" on the Seattle weather forecasts.  I just shrugged and said something like "I can't explain it to you.  You'd understand if you were a native."

 

Oh, and as a WSU grad I can tell you that the two best bumper stickers are "Happiness is seeing Pullman in your rearview mirror" (mentioned upthread), and the directions to Pullman, "Go east 'til you smell it, and then south 'til you step in it."   :laugh:

 

Now I'm homesick...

[happi duck]

I was stopping at Target, it was raining and I was in a hurry. I forgot something in the car and jogged to save time. Some guy yelled sarcastically "welcome to Washington".

 

Um, not a tourist...just in a hurry!

[Xuzi]

As a CA transplant to WA, I was amazed that people actually *go the speed limit* or even less. The only speeders I ever saw were the "zippers", those people who speed and weave down the freeway lanes, usually in souped up cars. My brother came out for a visit, and as we were driving down the I-5 I pointed out to him that I was in the fast lane, regularly passing people, the speed limit was 75 MPH, and had my cruise control set to 76 MPH.

[TrixieB]

SKA-jit (short a)

Oh-kuh-NAH-gun

Wuh-KI-uh-kum

Shuh-HAY-lis

Deh Moyne

HOE-kwee-um

Muh-kil-TEE-oh

Pah-LOOSE

SEE-droh WOOL-y

Wah-SHOE-gul

 

Someone can correct me if I did any wrong!  That's how I've pronounced them and heard them pronounced. 

 

I have to add Methow Valley!  MET-how (t and h are separate).  Oh, and near where I grew up:  Enumclaw (EE-num-claw).

 

Deh Moynz is the one in Washington.  Dh says on the rare instances he hears "Deh Moyne" he assumes the speaker is from the midwest. :tongue_smilie:  

 

Oh yeah, my kids pointed out something they learned from their science teacher:  geoduck should be pronounced "GWEE-dok" and the "gwee" part is said quickly, not drawn out.  Just in case you want to sound like an in-the-know scientist or something... :)

[MiMi 4under3]

Me from Denver:  "You want to merge, fine.  There's 6" either end, and we're going well under 70mph."

Me now:  "Oh please, let me offer you this engraved invitation to merge.  Let me slow down to 30mph on the freeway so you won't be nervous about changing lanes."

 

This is hysterical!   :lol:

[gardenmom5]

when he was in elementary school, I finally made a deal with 2ds.  he could wear shorts when it was freezing out, but he had to wear a sweatshirt/coat.  he'd leave them on the playground. sigh.  if he has a choice, he wears flip-flops everywhere.  doesn't matter if it's raining - or even if there is snow on the ground.

 

I do admit, I've been sick of rain this year - but we hit 25" for 2014 before the end of april - normally we don't hit that until after HALLOWEEN.   on May FOURTH, we had received our entire normal May rain total.  I don't live in the rain forest, and I don't want to either.  (where these totals would be normal.)  my daughter and her friend want to go up to the reservoir off I90 and see how high it is.  dh took some guests up to Snoqualmie falls, and it was more on the impressive side.

 

we also have many different words for "rain".

drizzle being the most common form (except for this year when it has been actual rain)  (it can drizzle all day and you only get 1/4")

though Aberdeen has it's own form of "mist".

 

 

[gardenmom5]

oh - there was a family that moved here from Utah, and signed their kids up for soccer.  so, it was pouring rain on the day of the game and they figured it was canceled.  then they get phone calls wanting to know where they are and why aren't they at the soccer game.

 

then it snowed, and they got their kids to school to find no one there.

 

okay - play soccer in the rain, and school is canceled in the snow . . . . . (snow tends to be very wet with lots of hills is a bad combination.  doesn't help that municipalities don't keep road equipment around that is only needed once every five to ten years.)

[gardenmom5]

 

Me from Denver:  "You want to merge, fine.  There's 6" either end, and we're going well under 70mph."

Me now:  "Oh please, let me offer you this engraved invitation to merge.  Let me slow down to 30mph on the freeway so you won't be nervous about changing lanes."

 

LOL

 

the ones who SLOW down for a GREEN light drive me nuts the most.  seriously, can they try harder to miss the light?

 

 we do have a lot of transplants here - and you can tell by how much the driving patterns/behavior has changed.

[gardenmom5]

I have to add this one:

 

you know you're in seattle when the first of the season copper river sockeye salmon arrive on an AIRPLANE, and they announce it on the news.  (yep, the fish is in. or will be.)

 

eta: and locals would NEVER, EVER, *EVER* deliberately plant blackberries in their yard (yes, I've known transplants who did.)  they're best with a freeway between you and them.  and locals will NEVER tell you where they pick their blackberry supply.

 

my dream best dinner.  fresh copper river sockeye, and fresh blackberry pie.  pity their seasons are mutually exclusive.

[ElizabethB]

growing up, we had a goat to eat our excess blackberries, then when the goat grew horns and was a danger to small children, he became goat burgers. We were not told about the mystery meat until the last goat meal when my brother and I cried hysterically and my mom glared at Dad all through the rest of the meal. (In his defense, dad grew up on a farm and we did eat rabbit we raised with no qualms, but the goat was a semi-pet to us, we had named it and everything.)

 

When we lived in Albuquerque it rained approximately 4 times a year and everything was cancelled for rain. After a few years there, we moved to Germany, which has a similar climate to Seattle. I had gotten in the habit of not going out in the rain and it took me a few months to remember that yes, you could go out when it rained. I bought a new raincoat and good boots and remembered my roots and enjoyed Germany much more after that.

[trulycrabby]

I lived in Bellingham, WA, many, many years ago, when Star jeans were popular. They had these big bell bottoms, and several inches of the legs from the ground up would stay damp all day long. :)

[sarahinwa]

My favorite PNW uniform: socks with sandals, shorts, and a hoodie. 

 

My DD was about 5 and asked what an umbrella was. Proud moment for this PNW mama! ;)

[TrixieB]

I have to add this one:

 

you know you're in seattle when the first of the season copper river sockeye salmon arrive on an AIRPLANE, and they announce it on the news.  (yep, the fish is in. or will be.)

 

 

Hey -- that's TODAY!

 

[ThisIsTheDay]

As for pronunciations, I have to say that the Native American names "buffalo" any newcomer.  When we lived in Colorado, my MIL came to visit.  She couldn't pronounce the name of a main street, because the Native American pronunciation pattern from the NE was different.  She kept saying air-uh-POE-ho for a-RA-puh-hoe.  It's regional.

 

HEY!!  That's where I'm from.

 

But I know the vast majority of those PNW pronunciations, because my mom lives on San Juan Island, and my mil, bil & wife, sil & husband all now live in WA too.

 

:laugh:

 

[LucyStoner]

What baffles me is the general inability of people here to drive well in the rain. People can claim snow is foreign but it's not like they can claim that about rain.

[Belacqua]

What baffles me is the general inability of people here to drive well in the rain. People can claim snow is foreign but it's not like they can claim that about rain.

 

And then we also get addled when the sun comes out. How am I supposed to drive when there's this scary, unfamiliar, shiny thing in the sky?

[Evergreen State Sue]

sequim, Puyallup, Issaquah

SKWIM.  pyooALup, ISuh-kwah.

 

geoduck  is gooeyduck.  

 

But please don't ask me to order at Starbucks.  25 years and I still can't do it.  I haven't had my freakin' coffee yet!!!

 

I've lived here all my life and I pronounce Issaquah IZ-uh-kwah.  Will I have to be deported to the midwest? :laugh:

 

I remember when I was a kid we had local telethons on tv, but brought in big name celebrities to work them.  One time Leonard Nimoy (from Star Trek's Spock fame) was working the telethon and reading pledges and where the person was from.  When he got to the city "Puyallup", he struggled with it and then said, "Can you say that on TV?"

 

[NicAnn]

Ok I have to stand up for umbrellas. I always feel like I have to justify my love of umbrellas. I'm not a tourist, just don't like wet hair in my face! I have been teased more than once for my umbrella.

[Hypatia.]

My kids have this strange fascination with umbrellas, probably because we never use them.

 

I always laughed at socks and sandals, then I moved to WA.  Now I wear them without blinking, and my Keen maryjanes & wool socks are standard for winter.

[gardenmom5]

I've lived here all my life and I pronounce Issaquah IZ-uh-kwah.  Will I have to be deported to the midwest? :laugh:

 

I remember when I was a kid we had local telethons on tv, but brought in big name celebrities to work them.  One time Leonard Nimoy (from Star Trek's Spock fame) was working the telethon and reading pledges and where the person was from.  When he got to the city "Puyallup", he struggled with it and then said, "Can you say that on TV?"

 

I've lived here all my life too, and that's how I pronounced iZ-uh-kwah.  if you say mizz-uR-ah, then you'll be deported. (my grandmother)

 

I have an incredibly vauge recollection of a telethon outside of channel nine. (and my mother was addicted to tv.)  do you remember what it was for?  was it channel five or thirteen?

 

Ok I have to stand up for umbrellas. I always feel like I have to justify my love of umbrellas. I'm not a tourist, just don't like wet hair in my face! I have been teased more than once for my umbrella.

dh uses an umbrella - sometimes. he claims the water will spot his dress slacks. but he moved here when he was eight.  ;)  (and we never let him forget it. :D )

 

 

eta: though I've been in some midwest rainstorms I honestly didn't see the point of an umbrella.  so, it takes three minutes to get drenched instead of instantly?